III. Feelings and Flight

Shego put the phone down on the small, glass table that was next to her chair and smiled. Oh yes, it was almost exactly as she had planned. Dr. D always was one to overreact in a dramatic fashion. He'd probably pace around the lair, muttering and complaining to himself, running his hands through his hair in a frustrated manner. Maybe say a few mean things about her that he didn't mean. Drakken would likely try to go about working on a plan and fail miserably without her to point out the flaws which would be obvious to anyone but him. He'd either eventually realize the faults, try it and end up having to run, or try it and end up in jail, but no matter what, he'd have to call her. She'd complain and hang up, he'd call more, and then she'd eventually show up if he promised more vacation days or a raise in her salary.

That's how it would normally go.

But this time she would demand something else. This time, she would demand a free meal at the restaurant of her choice. She would demand that he come and use the excuse that she was making sure that he was going to pay and badger him a bit to get him to start talking about things other than his messed up childhood or his next 'take over the world' plot. It got SO boring and she was honestly curious about the other things about him. Although she probably knew him better than nearly anyone, she wanted to know more about him. How he went from her lame-o boss with a bad haircut and zero common sense to…actually, he was the exact same. He hadn't changed at all. But how she felt about him had. It was very sappy and she hated the thoughts that were in her head, but she couldn't stop thinking them.

When the jumbo green bean aliens had taken him, all she could think about was getting him back. She had actually worried about him. HER! Shego, the unsympathetic, sarcastic, master-thief that was the common sense and talent of the pair. He would probably have turned himself into a fly or something weird like that if she wasn't there to tell him when he was being stupid. He was naïve, stubborn, ugly, dismissive, foolhardy, cowardly, dedicated, optimistic, creative, nice bodied, car-WHOA! What in the…? How did her thoughts start on that train? Unfortunately, that's how it'd been going since she'd almost lost him to that warmongering giant the first time. She had been secure in her job before, no worries, so she hadn't cared when he was stuck in jail. Her job would still be there when he got out. He couldn't replace her. Until he did. And it was someone better than her. It had stung for some reason. It hurt every time she thought about it. Did Drakken think about how she would react to being replaced? Did he even care? It made her wonder what life would be like without him. That meant change, and she didn't like change. So she fought tooth-and-nail to get him back.

Then that joke Frugal Lucre took her place as Drakken's second-in-command (seriously, how did THAT happen?). That time, she had gotten so upset that when someone else paid more attention to her and Drakken had blamed the mission failing on her, she had stormed off and decided to give her attention to that Smarty guy. Boy, that was a case of temporary insanity if she'd ever seen one. Lucky for her that the kid had shown up when he did. That was when she had really started to take a good look at her…feelings…for Drakken. She definitely cared more than an employee. She knew it was friendship. She thought it was just friendship. Then the whole 'revenge!' plan that the BGMs had come up with went into motion and Drakken was gone.

Just like that.

And she couldn't stand it.

So she went to find Miss. Priss and get her help in taking the fight to them. Some random destruction and a rocket jacking later, she was on the alien spaceship. When she saw Dr. D running down the hallway toward her, the relief she felt was so great that she was almost ready to collapse on the floor. But then Drakken yelled her name and opened his arms and, although she kept her tongue in check, she spread her arms wide to grab him. Dr. D had managed to get a grip on himself when they were a foot from each other and came up with a decent cover. They pulled themselves together and, after hitting the off switch (she's certain that all of the people in charge must be absolutely clueless about why it's a bad idea to have things like that), those muscle-bound giants had to go and assume. They assumed something irrational; she and Dr. D together. As a couple. How crazy were they? After a bit of arguing (and she SO wanted to give Princess a fist to the kisser), they managed to get out of there and put together a plan. She was quite surprised. Drakken actually put together a good plan. The plant vine thing was a little weird to hear about, but they were their ticket to taking down the Lorwardians so she didn't complain. Much.

She probably would have just left it alone and gone back to her oh-so-wonderful job of trying and failing to take over the world if the ceremony hadn't happened. She was very surprised and a bit embarrassed when the vine reached out and began wrapping itself around her. She was even more embarrassed when it wrapped her around Drakken. Shego did manage to pull off a kind-of smile as she looked at the crowd. Then she looked at him. He was obviously surprised, a bit nervous, kind of happy, but not embarrassed. How could that be? Drakken was a big, BIG fan of personal space (he loved his personal bubble and reminded those who entered its borders about it), so to have it completely shredded like his feather pillow in Commodore Puddles' maw was something that would have set him off. But he just stood there, giving off a nervous smile. Then it hit her. Drakken liked her. Everything seemed to make more sense after that. Who knew how long he'd been crushing? Heck, the Diablos could have been some attempt to impress her! Poor clod.

Now she had her plan of attack. Keeping things on her terms was something that she was set on doing. As such, she had to show him who was still the boss, even if he was the one that paid her. Also, this would help to deflate what she was certain had become an ego the size of a Greatweek blimp. He may have saved the world, but that doesn't put them any closer to conquering it. If anything, it wasted their time and resources, not to mention the lairs that had been trashed. Shego stretched a bit on the chair and sighed, looking into the bright blue sky. By now, the plant potion should have worn off and he would be back to his regular old 'genius' self. Yes, they'd have a lot to do later, but for now she was going to relax in the sun and wait for her plan to work. He wouldn't fire her. Not now. He would be ringing her within a day begging for her to come back. She would probably refuse for a couple of weeks before giving in to his pleas. Probably.

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Doctor Drakken just kept staring at the phone in stunned disbelief. Had she really said that? "Away from you." It kept ringing in his head. It…hurt. It had stopped his tendrils' rampage in their spots, some of them still holding random pieces of laboratory equipment. Was she really that freaked out by him that she had to have even more time away? What had happened at the ceremony must have upset her more than he thought. Then it finally registered. She had said 42 days of vacation. That was more than a month. He would be stuck there, alone, for an entire month. All of his henchmen had quit during the whole Hank's Gourmet Cupcakes plot. Shego was gone on vacation. Perhaps he threw those raccoon dogs out too quickly…

This was going to be quite the problem. The vines dropped what they had and curled up behind him as he put his hands behind his back and started pacing. Pacing helped his thought process and he needed a solution to this, and fast. He could barely stand one day alone, let alone over a month. What to do, what to do...he thought about cloning someone, then remembered about the conversation that he and Shego had a few years back on the topic. If she found out, he would most definitely be alone for good. Synthodrones? Nah, not enough personality. Where was a genius plan when you needed one?

Drakken was suddenly overcome by a dizzy spell. His vines helped to steady him, but he realized that he wouldn't be able to stay awake for much longer. It was very early in the morning (he somehow never suffered from jet lag; in fact, he found it odd that other people did) and he was still incredibly hungry. He would have to go to sleep and then go shopping for food later before he could do anything else. While trudging his way to his room, he noticed a foul odor. Not wanting to deal with it at the moment, he ignored it and continued down the hallway. Drakken entered the security code for his room and the metal doors slid open to reveal a room oddly similar to the one at his Caribbean lair. The only difference was that his bed had dark blue sheets instead of red ones. He collapsed on his bed, stirring the layer of dust that had settled there, with his tendrils laying every which way, too tired to put on pajamas or to call his plants back, and fell into a troubled sleep.

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Seventeen hours. It would be at least seventeen hours before he would be safely away from anyone that he cared about. After Ron had gotten home, he had ran to his room and packed. He only packed what he needed. A few changes of clothes, a toothbrush, a hairbrush, and Rufus. Rufus had stayed at home so that he and Kim could have their alone time, so he was a bit confused as to why Ron was so upset. Ron explained to him as he stuffed his Snowman Hank pajamas into his bag. Rufus knew about the problems that Ron was having with his MMP, which is why Rufus made sure to keep Ron from holding him out of fear for what would happen to Ron if the worst were to happen. Ron used his cell phone to call up Wade as he zipped up his bag. He didn't use a computer or anything like that so that Wade wouldn't see the blotchy and puffy eyes, the redness of his cheeks, or the tears that had stained his face.

"Hey, Ron. How was your date with Kim?" Wade said into his microphone. He was eating a bag of chips while watching his favorite science fiction show, Space Passage.

"It was…good…hehe…" Ron stuttered. He was afraid if Wade knew about him breaking up with Kim, then he would get curious and find out about his problem. If everyone found out, he might be labeled a danger to society and locked up for who knows how long or worse, everyone would try to help him and end up getting hurt. "Listen, Wade, I need a favor."

"Sure. What do you need?"

"I have to get to Yamanouchi earlier than I thought I would. Any chance that I could get a ride from someone right now?" Ron asked while scratching the back of his neck. Rufus echoed Ron's sentiment by going, "Yup, ride."

"Just a sec, Ron. I'll check, but it's a bit short notice," Wade replied as he typed furiously on his computer. After about a minute of typing, Wade finally stopped and sighed. "Sorry, Ron, but the best I can do is to get you a ride to Tokyo. Is that okay?"

"Yes, Wade, it's just fine. Just tell me where to go and I'm gone," Ron said quickly. He had grabbed a pencil and a piece of paper and was writing a letter for his parents, who had already gone to sleep.

"Uh, Ron, why do you need to go so early? Weren't you going to be leaving in a few days anyway?" Wade asked with hesitation. He didn't like to pry, but it seemed odd that he was leaving in the middle of the night without Kim. He also detected the shaky tone of Ron's voice, like he was a bit emotional about something.

"Oh. Well, uh…um…I…uh…promised Yori that I was gonna…uh…ah…train…yes! I had promised Yori that I was going to help her train!" Ron said triumphantly, happy that he had managed to think of something. "After all, I did manage to use my super kick-butt monkey mojo to take down those aliens. She wants me to get there so I can give her some lessons."

"Ron, are you okay? You sound a bit funny," Wade said.

"Yeah! I'm just great! Super! Couldn't be better! How could I not be? I'm a hero, I'm a super-powered fighter, I have a bone-diggity-" Ron cut himself off, realizing that what he was going to say would be false. He didn't have a bone-diggity girlfriend anymore. He had dumped her. Suddenly, the good feeling that he had gotten earlier soured and left him feeling a bit empty, sad, and very, very alone.

"Ron? Are you there? You just cut out. Ron? Are you-"

"Yes, Wade, I'm fine," Ron said in a much more subdued tone. "Just…just get my ride here. Please."

Wade was a bit taken aback at the odd change in Ron's tone. The pausing in Ron's explanation made Wade think that Ron wasn't being 100 truthful. That was something he would have to ask Kim about later. For now, though, Ron was asking for help in getting to Japan, so that's what Wade was going to do. He wasn't just Kim's friend, after all.

"Just go to the airport. There should be a plane there waiting to take you to Tokyo. Hope you have a safe trip," Wade said sincerely.

"Thanks, Wade. I owe you one, big time," Ron replied just as sincerely. "Good bye." Ron hung up the phone and gave a deep, pained sigh. Rufus jumped off of Ron's desk and climbed up to Ron's shoulder to try to give him some encouragement. Ron turned his head toward his longtime pet and friend and let a few tears drop. Rufus patted the side of Ron's head and kept repeating, "It's okay," over and over, hoping to calm the boy down.

Ron gave a few nervous giggles and wiped at his tears. "You know, Rufus, it's kinda funny when you think about it. All my life, I've always played second fiddle to Kim. She has always been so amazing at everything she does. When we got together at prom, I was afraid…I've always been afraid…of not being good enough. Now, I've finally stepped up to the plate, with the whole MMP thing. No one would be able to beat me. Heck, I took down a couple of E.T.s that took Kim and Shego out in one hit! And now…I'm…I'm…dangerous. To everyone. I can't be with her. I'm finally good enough and we can't be together." Ron began crying in earnest now, trying to stifle his sniffling so as to not wake his parents or his sister. Rufus jumped off of Ron and fetched a tissue, which Ron accepted gratefully. "Oh, Rufus, I'm so glad to have you. I don't know what I would do… This…it's not what I wanted!" Ron suddenly said with a sharp, angry tone. He began to rub his eyes furiously with the tissue. Rufus made loud, squeaking noises that made Ron stop what he was doing and look at him. The little pink mole rat was pointing at Ron's hands and jumping up and down. Ron glanced at his hands and realized, with horror, that they were glowing a familiar blue color. Ron fell to his knees and hugged himself.

"Big brother?" a little voice said next to his head. 'Oh no, please, oh no,' Ron thought fearfully before he lifted his head and opened his eyes. He met the gaze of his little sister, Hana Stoppable. She looked a little upset and very confused, with a hand reaching out to touch her big brother. Ron scooted away from her until he was out of her reach and stood up. She crawled closer to him, but he continued to back off. He eventually jumped over his bed, which Hana had crawled around to get to him, and grabbed his bag. Ron ran out of his room with Rufus hot on his heels. As he dashed out the front door, he heard the crying of a baby start up. Ron stopped long enough for Rufus to get into his pocket and then kept running until he was at the airport, where he collapsed onto a bench. A plane was landing, likely the one that he was getting the favor from, and there were a few people milling around waiting to board other flights. Ron gripped the edge of the bench in apprehension of what was to come and heard metal groaning. He looked down and realized that, once again, his Mystical Monkey Powers had activated themselves without his knowledge; the edges which he had been gripping looked as if they had been manhandled by Pain King.

"What did I do to deserve this?! Oh…" Ron began sobbing, his entire body shaking with every sob. He thought and he thought, but he just couldn't figure out why this was happening. He was a good person. Maybe it was a case of too much of a good thing? He had always wanted to be able to, for once, save Kim. Be the hero. But now…it wasn't worth it. It really, really wasn't worth it. He needed to get a grip on his powers for everyone's sake. Then he could be reunited with his friends, his parents, and Kim. If Kim would take him back, that is. The very thought of it and the memory of him encouraging her to date other people caused him to have another wave of tearful weeping. "Someday, KP. Someday, we'll be together again. Until then, I can only help protect you."

Author's Notes:

My, oh my. I guess I'm one of the masochists that I mentioned last chapter. Don't worry, I plan on lightening up in a couple of chapters. I like the whole 'great power, great responsibility' thought on being a hero, and it just didn't seem fair for Ron to just be like 'boom, I'm the master!' with his MMP. Even Superman had to practice with his powers.

I apologize for the long wait. There was a minor detail that I was hung up on and I didn't want to put the chapter up and have several people e-mail me about how I described something incorrectly. Hopefully, the next one will be finished much faster.

Thanks again to Supreme Distraction for being my beta. Don't know if I'd even have any titles without her help. Also, thanks to CajunBear73 for reviewing. I do like to know if I'm doing a decent job with the characters and story.